Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
Cece hummed to herself as she touched up her mascara, Peanut circling her ankles like a furry satellite.
She had an oil change appointment in town.
Not a chore she exactly looked forward to, but she figured she might finish her book club book while she was waiting.
And maybe afterwards she’d run into Walmart and see what they had in the way of clothes.
She’d found things there before. A jean jacket. A pair of tan pants. Hard to tell what gem might be lurking. Blaise would probably not approve of clothing from Walmart. Then again, considering Blaise’s financial situation, maybe she would.
Cece could show her anything she bought and what Blaise didn’t like, Cece would return. She went to her dresser and reached for her usual leggings, then paused.
Her hand inched toward the drawer beneath the one her leggings were in, her thoughts on those shorts.
The ones she’d shoved in the back last year after they refused to button. She’d stared angrily at her waistline and hadn’t tried them on since. Too many days she’d chosen forgiveness in the form of yoga pants instead.
Things were different now. So on a whim, maybe fueled by the memory of surviving that exercise class yesterday without collapsing, she pulled the shorts out. They were white, the most unforgiving color, but denim, which did help hold things in.
“Should we dare, Peanut?” she asked.
Peanut flicked her tail, which Cece decided was approval.
Holding her breath, she stepped in, tugged them up and blinked. They buttoned. Easily.
How in the name of Billy Blanks was that possible?
She twisted in front of the mirror, half expecting a trick of the light. But nope. Not only did they fit, the waistband wasn’t even tight. It was comfortable, actually.
“Oh, my goodness.” Cece laughed, delighted and stunned in equal measure. “Peanut! Look at this!”
Peanut hopped up onto the bed as if to inspect the victory. Cece placed her hands on her hips, evaluating herself. She’d sort of felt smaller but everything she wore lately had a stretch panel or an elastic waistband. Workout clothes mostly.
Could this really be happening already? She had been faithful to the gym. And she’d avoided carbs with true dedication.
Maybe all those morning walks were helping. Or maybe it was the stress of everything Natalie had been going through. Or maybe it was just Cece taking care of herself again.
Whatever it was, she needed to keep doing it. Except for the stress bit. She’d be just fine to put that behind her.
“Good for you,” she whispered to her reflection, a smile blooming across her face.
After another admiring turn, she slipped on a breezy top and sandals, but a new thought tugged at her.
If her body was changing, if she was feeling better, which she was, then maybe it was time to get the whole picture. A fresh start deserved a fresh check-in. She was supposed to be going in for a yearly checkup anyway since the cancer.
She grabbed her purse and headed for the door, calling over her shoulder, “Peanut, remind me later. I’m booking a physical.”
Peanut meowed, which Cece translated as about time. Maybe she’d even do it while she waited on her car.
As she locked the door and stepped into the sunlit morning, she realized the waistband of her shorts wasn’t just fabric. It was proof that she was doing something good for herself. And it really was about time.
When Cece arrived at the garage, she handed over her keys and settled into one of the plastic chairs in the oil change waiting area, putting her purse on the chair next to her.
The TV mounted high in the corner was playing a muted daytime talk show with the captions on, but she barely glanced at it.
She kept tugging lightly at the waistband of her shorts, just to confirm they still fit the way she thought they did. They did. Every time.
“Well,” she murmured to herself. “Might as well strike while the motivation’s hot.”
She pulled out her phone and scrolled to her doctor’s office number. Peanut would surely approve of this kind of productive multitasking.
After a couple of rings, the receptionist picked up. “Greenway Internal Medicine, this is Karen. How can I help you today?”
“Hi, Karen. This is Cece Davenport. I was hoping to schedule a physical, whenever you have availability.”
“Do you have any health concerns or is it just a yearly?”
“Just a yearly.”
Karen clicked her keyboard rapidly. Cece could almost visualize the screen being scanned. “Let me check…our next opening is…hmm…we actually just had a cancellation.”
Cece perked up. “Oh?”
“Yes. Tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. I know it’s short notice, but if you can make the appointment, it’s yours.”
Eight a.m. wasn’t Cece’s most favorite hour, but this felt like the universe nudging her forward. A sign she was doing the right thing. If she wanted to stay on track with this fitness thing, this seemed like a good step to take.
“I’ll take it,” she said immediately.
“Great. We’ll see you then. Please arrive ten minutes early to update paperwork.”
“Will do.” Cece thanked her and hung up, leaning back in her chair with a little satisfied hum.
She hadn’t expected to get an appointment so quickly, but this was good. It felt like a commitment to these lifestyle changes. And she was a few months overdue, anyway.
She looked down at her legs stretched out in front of her, at the shorts that had been hiding in her drawer for far too long.
“This is good,” she whispered under her breath. “Gotta keep this momentum going.”
She was actually looking forward to hitting Walmart next, just to see what she might fit into. Funny how something like that could change a person’s whole mood. Maybe she’d find something cute to wear to book club.
She pulled out her ereader and disappeared into her book.
It felt like she’d only been reading for a few minutes when one of the mechanics poked his head into the waiting area. “Ms. Davenport? Your car’s ready.”
Cece stood, smoothing her top and feeling lighter than when she’d arrived. She wondered if Joe would notice the next time he saw her.
After leaving the oil change place, Cece found herself driving straight toward Walmart. It felt right. Easy. Practical. And, frankly, she wasn’t ready to spend good money on clothes she hoped would be too big for her soon.
The sliding glass doors whooshed open as she stepped inside, instantly greeted by the who-knows-what scent that might have been from the store’s air freshener aisle. Cece grabbed a cart, though she wasn’t sure she’d need one, and made a beeline for the women’s section.
“Just one or two things,” she told herself as she passed a rack of bright summer tops. Those were cute, but did she really need more tops? No really, but these were just T-shirts. One in a good color wouldn’t hurt. She picked a hot pink. “Temporary reinforcements. That’s it.”
Then she saw the shorts.
Not the tiny ones the high school girls wore, bless them and the elasticity of youth, but a pair of tailored khaki shorts that looked like they would hit mid-thigh in a classy, coastal sort of way.
She took them off the rack and held them up. “Cute,” she whispered. “These could be very book-clubby. Possibly date-worthy.”
Next, she spotted a lightweight blouse in a soft sea-glass green that made her forget she didn’t need more tops.
It had flutter sleeves, which she thought were subtly flirty and helped hide the flabbiness there that she was working on.
Plus, it had a delicate neckline she could dress up with jewelry. She tossed it into the cart.
A few racks later, she found a white eyelet cotton top she immediately imagined pairing with dark jeans and wedge sandals that she did not yet own but could look on for. Maybe for her next night out with Joe. No plunging neckline, nothing too trendy or crazy. Just simple, pretty, and flattering.
Cece paused, noticing how easily she’d reached for the smaller sizes this time. She double-checked the tags, half expecting a mistake. But no, she was picking clothes for the body she was becoming, not the one she’d felt stuck with for years.
That might be overly ambitious. She went back and got the larger size in each one, just as a backup.
In the fitting room, she slipped into the sea-glass blouse first. It skimmed her waist just right.
And the flutter sleeves made her shoulders look delicate.
But the color was the real winner. It brightened her face so much she leaned closer to the mirror and whispered, “My goodness. I should wear more of this.”
She tried on the khaki shorts next with the hot pink tee, and nearly laughed at her reflection. They fit perfectly, like they were meant for this new, confident version of her.
The white eyelet top was the final test. When she pulled it over her head and turned sideways, she nodded at herself. “Oh, yes. Definitely date material.”
Cece gathered her new items with a little thrill. It had been a long time since clothing made her feel this good. The last time she’d smiled in a dressing room had been when? Not counting the dress she’d bought to go out to dinner with Joe, she honestly had no answer.
At the checkout, she caught her reflection in one of the security mirrors. Her hair was a little tousled, her mouth curved in a soft, self-assured smile.
“You’re getting there, Cece,” she murmured. “One oil change and one cute outfit at a time.”
She walked back to her car with her bag swinging at her side, ready for the next book club, ready for dinner with Joe, and maybe for the first time in a long time, ready to be happy with herself again.